Daily Devotional For Saturday, June 7, 2025
Good morning Southside! Yesterday, we looked at the summary statistics of D-Day. One thing that stands out to me is that all who were involved in that invasion on those Normandy Beaches in France had to be all in it. There had to be a commitment unparalleled in any invasion in WWII. It was a crucial but costly battle against the Nazis. If you stepped into one of those boats beforehand, put a microphone in front of those young men, and asked, “How do you feel about landing at the beach in Normandy? Why do you want to do this?” it would be a pretty safe bet to say nobody really wanted to go. Tens of thousands of them wouldn’t survive the day, and they understood that going in.
But they also understood it needed to be done. They understood they were making a total commitment for their families, future generations and for the survival of America as a country. I think the challenge we face in the American church is we haven’t been asked to make a total commitment to Christ. We say a prayer, we get saved, we get dunked in a pool, but when it comes to standing up for Christ, we shy away. Unlike those soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, many “soldiers of the Lord” have gone AWOL spiritually speaking.
Look at 1 Kings 8:61, “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day” (NASB). I believe the Lord is giving us a different assignment. He’s asking if we’ll make a total commitment to follow Him. Will we accept our assignment to be part of the harvest and work to fight against evil? Will our sacrifice and obedience pave the way for future generations to experience freedom, or will we stay on our “spiritual boat” on the beaches of life?
When we share our faith with someone, we have basically two options. We can tell them that if they want to receive Christ, all they have to do is simply assent to certain truths and repeat a particular prayer, and they can be saved. That’s all it takes. That is certainly how many tell others to come to Christ, but that it is not the full truth at least by the words of Jesus.
The second option is to tell them to receive Christ involves death. Yes – death! We have to be willing to die to friends, die to family, die to what we want in and from life and die to our future. And according to Jesus in dying we begin to really live. That is being whole devoted and committed to the Lord. Look at Matthew 4:18-22:
“Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. (19) And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ (20) Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. (21) Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. (22) Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him” (NASB).
We love these passages but I think we often miss what really happened. With that, Jesus beckoned these men to leave behind their professions, possessions, dreams, ambitions, family, friends, safety, and security. He bid them to abandon everything and they did. Jesus said this in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (NASB). I love what pastor and author David Platt says:
In a world where everything revolves around self—protect yourself, promote yourself, preserve yourself, entertain yourself, comfort yourself, take care of yourself—Jesus said, “Slay yourself.” And that’s exactly what happened. According to Scripture and tradition, these four fishermen paid a steep price for following Jesus. Peter was crucified upside down, Andrew was crucified in Greece, James was beheaded, and John was exiled. Yet they believed it was worth the cost. In Jesus, these men found someone worth losing everything for” (Source: David Platt, Follow Me:A Call To Die, A Call To Live, Kindle, p. 3).
If the Lord asked you to drop everything and come and follow Him, would you? The truth is He has and He does. When we look at where we come these last 2,000 years, there is very little in the modern church of following Jesus as He asks. We send our children to Children’s Church and our teens to Youth worship and they sing great songs, they are told they only need to believe certain truths and say certain words.
Nowhere in the Bible does it ever instruct us to pray a certain prayer to be saved. Does that surprise you? Yet, that is often how evangelistic sharings go. "Are you ready to receive Christ?” “Good, so just repeat after me . . .” I understand why people do this, but that is not the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Adults are no different. We come into worship more concerned about lighting, the temperature, the comfort of the pews or seat, the loudness of the audio, irked over mistakes on our screens from the media than we are about dying to self. If an invitation is given, our pride keeps us seated. We think “Oh, that is for someone else. Not me. I am fine.” We feel if we attend, drop some money in the offering plate, possibly serve occasionally, we are a good Christian. And if the service happens to go longer than normal because the biblical teaching was longer or people were making decisions at the altar, we get irritated. Do you ever think that maybe the Lord gets irritated with you for such an attitude?
The original 12 disciples paid with their lives literally for their faith in Christ. James was executed by the sword. Bartholomew was beaten and crucified in India. Thomas, yes “doubting Thomas,” was martyred in India by being speared to death with multiple spears. Matthew was martyred with a halberd in Ethiopia. The Apostle Paul was beheaded by Rome. Why would we think that becoming a Christian would be anything less? Why not choose death in order to have life?
In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says this: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. (14) For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (NASB). That broad gate is religion and religious rituals that are comfortable, without demands, is attractive,and is accommodating to my lifestyle choices. All I have to do is say a certain prayer, and I am in. I have my ticket to heaven whether I still exude self-righteousness or self-indulgence. Both will be accepted and tolerated now that I am in the church club. But this is not Jesus’ way. In the Gospels Jesus often uses the word to describe the narrow gate as being “hard, difficult, challenging” to describe what it means to follow Him. And if you really ever come to realize it as some have, you will understand why they hate it.
There is a cost – your life – in following The Apostle Paul wrote this in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (NASB). Jesus. So, the major question you have to ask yourself is this: Is Jesus worth it? Little did those original 12 disciples know when Jesus called them it would literally cost them their physical lives, but when the choice came, they kept their commitment and loyalty to Christ. Yes, they were martyrs, but I prefer another word. A word that Jesus used often in describing us – disciples. Tomorrow we will look at what the words “belief” and “believe” really mean.
Assignment: The cross is more than a piece of jewelry we wear or a logo we have on our car. The cross was God’s judgment and wrath against sin that should have been directed against you and me. How did you come to Christ? Was it by reciting some prayer, or checking a box on a card, or walking an aisle in a church? Is this what makes you think you are saved? Read again Luke 9:23 at this link or above in this devotional. If you were to die this second and stand before God in heaven, what proof could you give from Luke 9:23 your life demonstrated this?
Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 16:25-26, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (26) For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, I thank You for the honor of bearing the name of Jesus. Thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, and for calling me out of darkness and into Your Kingdom of Light. I want to make a total commitment to You. I want to follow You and to please You. Holy Spirit, help me see the places I’ve tolerated ungodliness, compromised my integrity, or accommodated evil. Help me to crucify my flesh. Forgive me. I don’t want to be lukewarm. I want to be totally committed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly